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Nearly 200 years have passed since women publicly declared their rights. Why, even at the beginning of the progressive XNUMXst century, are there still many opponents of equality both among men and among women themselves?
As soon as we touch upon the topic of feminism in a circle of friends or public space, heated debates flare up. At the same time, what is feminism and women’s rights, everyone presents in their own way.
Raising this topic, we understood that we were entering a minefield: whatever you say, a sharp reaction from opponents and supporters of feminism will not take long. It was palpable even when preparing the article. But the more interesting!
So why is feminism gaining new momentum today? What resources and messages—for each of us and society as a whole—are hidden in this movement?
What are we fighting for?
At first glance, there are far more opportunities for women today than in the middle of the XNUMXth century, when the women’s movement for access to education, legislative rights and against slavery arose. Why hasn’t feminism disappeared?
“Now we understand feminism more broadly than during the second wave, when marriage, family, children, earnings, career growth, the double burden on women: at work and at home were discussed.
The third, modern wave is a set of movements that fight against all types and forms of gender and sexual discrimination,” explains Maria Sabunaeva, a consultant psychologist and member of the Association for Feminist Psychotherapy. The oppressed did not become less, and among them not only women.
One of the tasks of feminism is to achieve a balance of patriarchal aggression and matriarchal peacefulness, the other is to reduce the birth rate.
“The flourishing of feminism in the XNUMXth century is due to the crisis of patriarchal morality,” emphasizes Gestalt therapist Leonid Tretyak. — Patriarchal strategies led to two devastating world wars. The Chilean philosopher Claudio Naranjo wrote about this: “A patriarchal society values violence more than affection.”
Today, the life of mankind has become more prosperous, thanks in part to new technologies, there are no open combat clashes, rather remote information wars are taking place. And when hunger disappears and abundance arises, we can think not only about survival, but also about our rights. Therefore, now representatives of feminism are attacking the empty monopoly of patriarchy on power.”
And they often fight not only for their rights, but also against male domination. One of the tasks of feminism, according to Leonid Tretyak, is to achieve a balance of patriarchal aggression and matriarchal peacefulness, the other is to reduce the birth rate: after all, the patriarchy has made a childbirth apparatus out of a woman.
This was relevant in the era of wars for the reproduction of “cannon fodder”, but it becomes dangerous now, when the planet is threatened with overpopulation.
Balance of male and female
“Humanity, like a person, goes through different stages of development,” emphasizes analytical psychologist Alla Tretyakova. – First, matriarchy – the unconditional power of the Great Mother (eros), in which life is born. Then comes the time of the Great Father (logos), when we declare our “I”, build a social hierarchy and develop science. For this to happen, it is necessary to separate from the Great Mother.
But then we are faced with the task of uniting these two principles: we grow up, accepting both the Great Mother and the Great Father as components of a holistic, mature society. In modern Russia, the patriarchal system (the power of the Father) is preserved, if not in laws, then in the consciousness of society.
A woman knows in advance that if she shows masculine qualities (purposefulness, competence, perseverance), she will meet a negative attitude: she will be denied a leadership position, power. Because our infantile part is afraid of the power of a woman, the power of the Great Mother: it is afraid of the absorption, the disappearance of the personality. So attacking both women and men is about power.”
But without the “female” and “male” values that are in each of us, it is impossible for a person to form, no matter if he is a man or a woman, otherwise he will remain in an immature, infantile position. This also applies to society. Ours today is still out of balance.
“The representation of women in power and at the head of big business is completely out of proportion to the number of Russian women,” notes sexologist Lev Shcheglov, “and sociological studies show that, on average, women’s salaries are 15-20% lower than for men in the same positions. And domestic violence is directed mainly against women. It happens that a wife beats her husband with a frying pan, but he endures. But such cases are in the minority.
What is hurting me?
“I was denied the right not to give birth.” Third birth, heavy, emergency caesarean, please do a tubal occlusion. They refused me – you are only thirty, you still have to give birth and give birth. This is called reproductive violence in civilized countries. We have a demographic policy! (Julia, 37 years old, mother of many children and adoptive mother)
“They didn’t accept documents for a military university.” I wanted to go to the intelligence department, I would pass exams and physical standards easily. But I was refused. And parents stigmatized for “unfeminine” hobbies in historical fencing, woodworking, sailing and martial arts. (Anna, 33, designer)
“All responsibility for the children is on me.” For 9 years I could not go anywhere without children. Grandmothers are far away, there is no money for a nanny, her husband drank or beat, and it was dangerous to leave them with him. “I have no money, I have nothing to eat myself” is an argument for a man not to work and completely blame the maintenance of his descendants on his mother. (Anna, 48 years old, additional education teacher)
“They didn’t hire me because they thought I liked women.” But in the end they took it. And the security officer told me about the reasons for the long interviews when I already arranged a “waiver” at the time of my dismissal. Well, of course: I am 28 years old, but there are no families and children. (Natalia, 46 years old, marketer)
“They refused to raise my salary.” Motivated by the fact that I have a wealthy husband. Although my performance was higher than male colleagues in the same position. Accidentally saw a statement on the award – I have less than 30%. (Ekaterina, 40 years old, retail chain manager)
Whose body is this?
Domestic violence is the most urgent women’s problem in Russia today. About what a huge number of not only women, but also children were subjected to physical and sexual aggression by fathers, stepfathers, husbands, brothers, they started talking after the flash mob #I’m Not Afraid to Say. As well as the fact that law enforcement agencies too often ignore women’s requests for help.
“The publicity of these problems became possible thanks to social networks,” Maria Sabunayeva is convinced. “Women saw that their traumatic experience was not unique, and finally began to realize that it was not their fault that they were raped.
Psychologists often encounter the “Stockholm Syndrome”: a woman gets so used to the fact that a rapist terrorizes her and her children that she sincerely believes that she herself provokes him, and if he learns to behave differently, he will stop beating her. Our task is to say: only the rapist is responsible for his behavior.
However, so-called victimblaming is still common even among psychologists – accusing the victim of provoking the attack. And a woman is not protected by law, only now, thanks to Russian feminists and in the absence of support from State Duma deputies, except for Oksana Pushkina, a bill on domestic violence has been prepared.
Where does such aggression come from? One reason is unconscious. “Rape manifests an archetypal rage against eros,” says Alla Tretyakova. “Where a woman is seen as breasts, genitals, ceases to be a person and a person, and is reduced to the functions of satisfaction (like the Great Mother), there sexual or psychological abuse occurs.”
If the decision to ban abortions at the expense of the budget is taken, a huge number of socially vulnerable women will be under attack
One of the demands put forward by feminists is: “My body is my decision.” The point is that no one can dispose of a woman’s body against her will. In a society of equal rights, there is no place for physical and sexual violence, and only the woman herself decides about pregnancy.
But some US states have already banned abortions, and Russian legislators are seriously considering removing abortion from compulsory health insurance.
“We already went through this in the Soviet Union: until 1954, abortions were banned and done underground, and contraceptives were not available,” continues Maria Sabunayeva. “This is violence against a woman — the legalized violence of the state.” If the decision to ban abortions at the expense of the budget is taken, a huge number of socially unprotected women will be under attack.
“Decisions can be made for a minor or a mentally ill person,” explains Lev Shcheglov. “When the state tries to decide for an adult what to do with his body, life, this is a dangerous trend. If this becomes a trend, we should stop talking about being a civilized country. This will push Russia closer to North Korea and Iran.”
Is it really that easy to turn things around? Perhaps the most sensitive and active female part of society has grasped this danger, which is not yet obvious to everyone.
Other as equal
But why then do not all women support the protection of their rights? “The reason is in internal misogyny, that is, in the hatred of women themselves for themselves,” says Maria Sabunaeva. Our society makes women feel second class. Let’s look at the pictures in children’s books: you will see a woman at best in the form of a nurse and a stewardess.
And girls from infancy absorb the “correct” idea of themselves. “In a patriarchal society, everything is strictly heterosexual and somewhat asexual,” notes Leonid Tretyak. “It has become a part of self-respect and identity since childhood. And suddenly someone is attacking our self-image!” First we defend it and only then ask whether it is true.
And for some, feminism is too narrow. “We seem to be losing the universal human content and are fighting for the rights of sex,” notes Alla Tretyakova. – While the goal of the development of consciousness is to feel oneself as a whole person, without cutting off from oneself either sex (eros) or mind (logos). And the needs of society now are precisely in integrity.
But, perhaps, now our society is going through a kind of puberty, when only in this way, through rebellion and resistance, can we claim our rights. To one day love yourself, contradictory, uniting both masculine and feminine. And to see in another, regardless of his gender, the Other – and equal.
Feminine and feminine
Is there a need for artificially created “female” words, explains the philosopher and linguist Mikhail Epshtein. “I am a supporter of a decisive renewal of the language. But only if there is a new meaning behind the new word. But the Russian language successfully solves the designation of persons of different sexes by expanding the category of words of a common gender.
Should a man be offended if they say about him: “an outstanding personality”? Or is it more correct to say: “this is an outstanding personality”? And about Marie Skłodowska-Curie, is it offensive to women to say that she is a “genius”? Should I say “she’s a genius”? All this gives the loss of common sense.
The word “individual” is masculine and “individual” is feminine. So what? These are purely formal categories, indicating a difference in the type of declension, case endings, and there is no semantics or mysticism of gender differences behind this.
The words “person” (2nd declension) and “personality” (3rd declension) belong semantically to the common gender, that is, they refer to both sexes, although they are inclined differently. Well, let’s say: Vanya is a man, and Katya is a “little man” or “little man”?
In my opinion, such gender specialization is much more offensive. The construction of formal signs into meaningful ones is, at first glance, leftism and progress, but in fact it is the deepest archaism and fundamentalism.